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This case study reports the impact on awareness and understanding of children's rights by policy makers, practitioners and children. This was achieved through the development of a legally sound and research-based but user-friendly model for understanding and implementing Article 12 of the UNCRC. This model has been used by the Northern Ireland and Irish Children's Commissioner, Non-governmental organisations, other Higher Education Institutions, government departments and teachers to inform policy makers, practitioners and children and young people about the obligation to give children's views due weight in decision-making. The research model and the practical impact it has had has extended understanding beyond the traditionally used concept of the "voice of the child" or "pupil voice" by emphasizing the legal obligation to ensure that children's views have an influence on decision-making, with direct effects on policy and practice and also enabling government to fulfil its additional obligation under Article 42 of the UNCRC to ensure that the rights in the UNCRC are widely known among adults and children alike.
Research by Dr Una Convery and Dr Linda Moore (respectively Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Criminology) has significantly influenced rights-compliance in policy, legislation and practice regarding youth custody in Northern Ireland and beyond. Most notably, it impacted decisively on the development of innovative regimes and policies at NI's only custodial centre for children and improved their conditions. It also influenced decisions on reduced custodial levels and the removal of children from the penal system. By providing a solid evidence base, utilised by lobbyists and political representatives, the research influenced the inclusion of independent reviews of the penal and youth justice systems within the multi-party Hillsborough Agreement (2010). Its findings also assisted the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) in its successful campaign for enhanced investigatory powers.
Under Jersey law, the right to inherit property has historically been affected by factors such as the legitimacy of a child and the gender of a spouse. This research, which was commissioned by the Jersey Community Relations Trust, concluded that aspects of the law were discriminatory and did not comply with human rights legislation. As a direct result of the research the law was amended so that illegitimate children were given the same fixed rights of inheritance as legitimate ones, and the fixed rights of inheritance of a widow and widower are now unified.
The research in this case study provided guidance for advocates of policy change, Welsh Government Ministers and Assembly Members in their shaping of the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011, which imposed a unique legal duty on Welsh Ministers to have due regard to the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This model was followed in a Scottish Government consultation on prospective law reform, and it has attracted significant international interest.
The protection of children in international law requires clear rules identifying: the country in which disputes concerning children should be litigated (jurisdiction); which country's law should be applied to resolve those disputes (choice of law); and when effect should be given to the orders of foreign courts (recognition and enforcement). These Private International Law issues are central to the research highlighted in this Case Study, which has impacted upon:
The research:
1.1 was used in EU negotiations on EU Directives on procedural rights for suspects and defendants as the `leading study in the field' to address deficiencies in existing mechanisms;
1.2 informed the training of more than 250 judges, prosecutors and lawyers from at least 23 EU member states regarding respect for and implementation of procedural rights;
1.3 provided a template used by NGOs in other regions in their investigations of procedural rights in practice; these include a consortium of NGOs in six Latin America countries who are using it in order to produce positive changes in regulation and practice.
Research led by Professor Roger Mackett of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at UCL on children's physical activity has been used by central and local government, other public bodies and various advocacy groups to encourage children to be more active. It has been used to support policy documents and proposals aimed at improving children's health and wellbeing. It has led to improvements in the health, welfare and quality of life of many UK communities through, for example, their greater use of walking buses, which also contributes to reduced CO2 emissions.
Skogly's research has significantly contributed to the understanding of how and to what extent states' human rights obligations go beyond the territorial borders of states. Increased globalisation has led to the need to address the human rights effects of states' international actions and operations, and Skogly's research in this area has directly influenced the development of authoritative principles regarding ETOs, and these are now actively used by NGOs and the United Nations. The case study focuses on how research findings have enabled NGOs and UN bodies to understand, articulate and apply states' extraterritorial human rights obligations.
Research conducted at UEL on the protection, participation and welfare of children living in difficult circumstances in the aftermath of conflict and in contexts of urban and rural poverty has had wide-ranging impacts on international policy and practice. Benefits have arisen particularly from its influence on national policies for orphans and vulnerable children in Rwanda; on international professional standards and `best practice'; and on legal asylum in the USA. It has been used directly by governmental policymakers in Rwanda and Bangladesh and aid organisations in Africa and Asia, and has formed the basis for the development of new learning and advocacy resources used to improve the services offered by social work professionals in Africa, Asia and the UK. Through its direct impact on these individuals and organisations, the research has delivered indirect benefits to millions of children and adults around the world.
Essex research on developing quantitative indicators for assessing countries' performance on human rights and democracy has informed the work of a number of international organisations. Professor Todd Landman's research has been used by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in its provision of assessment frameworks and by the UN Development Programme in its work on democratic governance and sustainable development. Landman's research on democracy underpins the main resources employed by the inter-governmental organisation, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), based in Sweden. These resources have been translated into four languages and are used to assess the quality of democracy throughout the world. He also provides training for International IDEA's 150 members of staff on the measurement and assessment of democratic performance.